A sweatshop in Bangladesh. How much success have campaigners had? Photograph: Panos

Campaigners have been battling for an ethical fashion industry ever since the first sweatshop scandals broke back in the 1990s.Even now, Ethical Consumer magazine's latest buyers' guide reveals that a sweat-free high street is still a long way off.

"Our biggest fight is with the supplier companies who are strongly anti-union and the government, which refuses to implement its International Labour Organisation commitments and allow our garment workers to join unions."

Progress might be slow, but it's not all doom and gloom. Take the example of the campaign led by the Responsible Sourcing Network to stop forced child labour in Uzbekistan's cotton industry. Over 60 global clothing companies, including Adidas and H&M, have now committed to ban Uzbek cotton from their supply chains until slave labour is abolished.

The Clean Clothes Campaign' Killer Jeans campaign has also had huge success with many brands outlawing the practice of sandblasting, a technique used to give jeans a "distressed" look but which can give workers silicosis of the lungs. Plus, as a result of Greenpeace's Dirty Laundry report, which exposed water pollution from textile manufacturing sites in China, several companies including H&M have now agreed to take action.

However once the pressure is off companies, many revert to their old ways. Back in 2002, H&M for example, promised to ban PVC from all their products, a commendable commitment in response to campaigns on what was back then a hot topic. Fast forward to 2011 and with other environmental issues making headlines H&M have inexplicably backtracked and are using PVC once again.

Our new buyers' guide rates the ethical and environmental record of over 30 clothes shops and shows that, incredibly, despite years of campaigning by labour rights activists, many companies are still failing to take even the most basic steps towards sweat-free production and sustainability.

Nine companies including Benetton, River Island and TK Maxx were among those unable to demonstrate to us that they had adequate policies in place to protect either workers' rights or the environment.

After we published our buyers' guide, Benetton provided us with information outlining how they are improving workers' conditions through supply chain management initiatives, which changes their scoring in this category from a worst to a middle rating. Benetton added that they began working on a Corporate Social Responsibility policy this June which will come into effect in 2012, a welcome development.

In response to our findings, River Island said:

"River Island adopts a rigorous approach and is constantly working with our buyers and suppliers to ensure they achieve the highest standards of ethical trading."

TK Maxx meanwhile declined to comment.

While campaigners clearly will have a job for life battling with companies, consumers also have a key role to play. Katy Brown from Ethical Consumer and editor of the clothes shop buyers' guide said:

"We know from experience that clothing companies will respond to consumer feedback which is why it's vital that shoppers keep up the pressure on companies to improve their ethical standards."

• Bryony Moore is a researcher for Ethical Consumer magazine

• This article was amended on 3 November to change 'any' to 'adequate' in the eighth paragraph